Alcohol blamed for expanding waistlines

A new Government campaign is being launched to show how many calories are being consumed when drinking a glass of wine.

A new Government campaign is being launched to show how many calories are being consumed when drinking a glass of wine.

The move comes over concerns that the average wine drinker is consuming about 2,000 calories each month from alcohol.

According to the new figures issued from the Department of Health, one glass of wine holds the same calories as a bag of crisps, and against the monthly figures would equate to eating 184 bags of crisps per year, or 38 roast beef dinners

The latest figures suggest that it's middle-aged, middle-class professionals that are far likely to exceed the recommended daily levels of alcohol consumption.

Also women who drink two large glasses of wine per day are using up almost a fifth of their daily recommended calorie intake, as well as drinking over the recommended daily limit.

Health Minister Phil Hope said: "Regularly drinking more than our recommended daily limits of wine or other forms of alcohol can have a knock on effect on our health, including an expanding waistline.

"It's not only the calories in the wine and other alcoholic drinks, we're more likely to eat fatty foods when we've had one too many."